He was born May 9, 1925, in Jackson, to R. B. and Marguerite Bowman Goodwin. He and Carol A. Dunn were married August 8, 1950, in Doniphan, Mo.

He was a 1944 graduate of Jackson High School, and a U.S. Army veteran of WWII, serving honorably in the 11th Airborne Paratroop Division, in the South Pacific Theater.

Played basketball for SEMO 1948-50

He then attended Oklahoma A & M College in Stillwater, Okla., where he played basketball under Coach Henry Iba. He later transferred to Southeast Missouri State University where he played basketball from 1948 – 1950, and was co-captain of the team his senior year.

Upon graduation, he taught and coached a total of 33 years in southeast area high schools, including Lilbourn, Mo.,Chaffee, Mo., Cape Girardeau, and Jackson, retiring in 1983 as coordinator of physical education and athletics at Jackson High School.

Coach had winning teams

While coaching in Chaffee, Bob had an undefeated football team, a basketball team that won numerous championships, and a baseball team that went to the state tournament. While coaching at Cape Central High School, he had an undefeated football season plus conference championships, and a basketball team that went to the state tournament.

In addition to teaching and coaching, Bob spent 20 years playing baseball and softball for area teams, including the Cape Capahas, earning the 1954 batting title. He also played with Holdrege in the Nebraska Independent League, and was an organizer and member of the Howard Swan Jets, a men’s fast pitch softball team that won four state softball titles.

Active in softball

His other interests and affiliations include: recipient of the SEMO District Teachers Association Meritorious Service Award; longtime membership in the Missouri State Teachers Association; secretary of the SEMO Football Association; charter member of the SEMO Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame, also serving as a board member; and lifetime member of VFW Post 3838 in Cape Girardeau.

Loving survivors include his wife of nearly 63 years, Carol of Cape Girardeau; a daughter, Teresa (David) Bigham of Olive Branch, Ill, and children, Katie (John) Ford and Kelsey Prater of McClure, Ill.; a son, Robert B. (Amy) Goodwin III of Fruitland, Mo., and children, Danielle and Samantha Goodwin of Batesville, Ark., and Addie and Tyler Gage of Fruitland; four great-grandchildren, Kayman, Eva, Eliza, and Mavis Ford of McClure; two brothers, James L. Goodwin of Alton, Ill.; and Dr. Lane A. Goodwin of Lacrosse, Wis.; and several nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his parents.

Friends may call from 4 to 8 PM, Friday, June 27, 2014, at the McCombs Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. The funeral service will be at 10:30 AM, Saturday, June 28, 2014, at the funeral home, with the Rev. Lee Goodwin officiating. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau, with a graveside service by VFW Post 3838 and full military honors by Team Delta and the Marine Corp League.

Memorials may take the form of contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Stories with mentions or photos of Coach Goodwin

Even if the story wasn’t ABOUT Coach Goodwin, readers would thrown in comments about him. Here’s a selection of those posts.

PE wasn’t my favorite class. As a non-jock, I tried to stay under the radar, but I did make the mistake of catching Coach’s ear one day.

7 Replies to “Coach Bob Goodwin 1925 – 2014”

The first day of football practice my junior year, Coach Goodwin walked up to the front of all of us on one knee and said “Boys, I want you to know that I lost 30 pounds this summer.” Somewhere from the back of the group someone said,” Turn around coach, I think you will find it.” He just laughed.

Coach ‘Goodie’ was a good man, and had much success in athletics and coaching, but was a late-comer to the newer methods and philosophies of modern sports psychology.

My favorite example is his frequent retort to me as he put me in the football games,”OK Brune, get in there and run fake 44 power right quarterback keep……(and as I took off running toward the huddle he would add…) ….and Brad…. what ever you do…… don’t fumble!”

Naturally…. after he planted that picture in my furtle and impressionable head full of mush…. the ball might of well been coated with bacon grease!

A defensive disciple of Coach Iba. I think the only reason Mark Kirkpatrick and I were on the varsity as sophomores was for Coach Goodie to yell at us – we were easy pickens and each practice was a ‘Sophomore Hate Day’…. There weren’t a lot of positive vibes in those early days. RIP Coach

Coach Goodwin is my image of what coaches are like. I always respected him. He gave a lot of “feedback”. Like many coaches, not all of it was positive. What I learned from that helped me advise Allyson, my D-III basketball playing daughter, on dealing with coaches. Some parents seem to take offense when coaches yelled at their kids. The kids would get upset as well. Allyson has learned to ignore the emotional part of a tirade and to try to glean the improvement needed.

I agree with Brad Brune’s comments about Coach Goodwin. I was a Senior on the 1961 team, Coach Goodwin’s third year and first winning team at Central. His teams only got better after that year.
The fundamentals that I learned under Coaches Goodwin, Hargens, Brinkopf and Allen allowed me to accumulate gridiron success in college. I owe much to those coaches.
My funny Coach Goody’s story happened between my Freshman and Sophomore college years. I had returned to Cape for the summer and was playing baseball one Sunday Afternoon against a Jackson team that Coach Goodwin played first base. Before the game he wanted to know all about my college experiences. I was a little “cocky” having made the travel teams in both football and baseball as a freshman. Ed Williams, a pretty fair lefthanded pitcher was on the mound and as luck would have it, I, a lefthanded hitter singled in the hole between first and second. I am leading off first, looking for approval from the “old coach” and feeling pretty good about myself when Williams picks me off with Coach Goodwin holding the ball awaiting my late return to the base. Another lesson taught and learned! Thanks Coach, well done, well done.

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Cape Central High Photos

Ken Steinhoff, Cape Girardeau Central High School Class of 1965, was a photographer for The Tiger and The Girardot, and was on the staff of The Capaha Arrow and The Sagamore at Southeast Missouri State University. He worked as a photographer / reporter (among other things) at The Jackson Pioneer and The Southeast Missourian.

He transferred to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, his junior year, and served as photo editor of The Ohio University Post. He was also chief photographer of The Athens Messenger.

He was chief photographer of the Gastonia (NC) Gazette for a long 18 months until he could escape to The Palm Beach Post, where he served as a staff photographer, director of photography, editorial operations manager and telecommunications manager. He accepted a buyout in 2008, after 35 years at the paper.

Most of the stories are about growing up in a small Midwestern town on the Mississippi River, but there’s no telling what you might run into.

Please comment on the articles when you see I have left out a bit of history, forgotten a name or when your memory of a circumstance conflicts with mine.

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